Paymark figures show spending in Christchurch in first 5 days after quake almost halved from a year ago
Figures from EFTPOS network provider Paymark show spending through its system in Christchurch in the five days after the earthquake almost halved.
Sales fell around NZ$24 million from the same period a year ago or about NZ$5 million a day.
The number of retailers active in the Paymark network rose to 1,534 by Monday from 770 on Wednesday.
Paymark said spending on Monday was 31% below the same time a year ago, while the average trading deficit across the five days from Wednesday to Sunday was 46%.
The largest decline in terms of value came on Friday, traditionally the busiest shopping day of the week, with a NZ$6.2 million decline in sales, Paymark said.
Paymark CEO Simon Tong said the full extent of damage to the economy woould not be be known for much longer.
These are first figures indicating how much spending and activity had fallen since the magnitude 6.3 earthquake on Tuesday.
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